Keeping a Promise
by Strawberry Eggs
Summary: I tried to keep to keep the promise, I wanted to keep the promise. As I lay in his arms, unable to speak or see, all I could do was think I'm sorry... End of game spoilers, XelhaKalas.


Yes indeed, I'm writing for another fandom! XD As an anime, manga, and RPG fan, I come across too many titles that I feel would make an interesting story. When the muses will it so, I get an idea, outline it, then start to write!

Well regardless, I'm hoping to eventually get a few more sparks of inspiration (more like blasts of Aura Spheres by a certain Lucario-Muse whose name I won't mention) for Baten Kaitos. For now though I've got this little story on Xelha's thoughts right before the ocean returns. I like to write stories in which I try to get inside a character's head. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Oh and a special thanks goes out to Fan Fan Girl! I was able to get the encouragement I needed to really sit down and get this story finished because of her interest and insistence. I hope this meets your expectations, Fan!

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**Keeping a Promise**

"…! Xelha? Xelha!!"

I could hear his cry, but that was all. I couldn't speak at all…I couldn't even open my eyes anymore.

"Xelha…You promised me you'd never leave us…that you'd never leave me!"

_I'm sorry, Kalas…I'm so sorry_…was what I wanted to say. Those words pierced me deeply. I tried to keep the promise, but…It all happened so fast. We finished the prayer to release the Ocean, then somehow Geldoblame appeared…was it even really him? Maybe it was my remaining fears, doubts and selfish desires in a recognizable form…One last obstacle to overcome before the Ocean could be released. When Kalas, his Guardian Spirit and I defeated him, I suddenly lost all of my strength. I fought desperately to stay awake, to keep my eyes open and get back up, but I couldn't…

It's almost like the dream I had two years ago…Kalas was in the heart of a dark forest, crying and holding someone tight; his brother Fee. I had never met him before I had that dream. I didn't even know his name at the time, but that didn't matter. My heart still went out to him. I wanted to help him. That and the promise I made to Mother years ago was what spurned me on to begin the journey, to discover what the impending peril was and to stop it.

I couldn't believe it when I saw him for real in Moonguile Forest. There he was, the same boy I saw in my dream two years prior. I didn't have any idea was going on between him and Melodia, but I could feel that he was somehow caught up in some sinister plot. I wanted to save him, even if I didn't know how, or from what.

Though I've felt drawn to him since I first saw him in my dream, I didn't realize I was in love with him until after he revealed that he was working with Melodia all that time and became the White-Winged Darkness. I journeyed with him all that time, hoping to be able to help him. Though he betrayed us, I didn't care. I had to save him from Malpercio's grasp. Even the fate of the world became less important to me. I would have done anything to have him back.

Being able to bond with his Spirit for a time also showed me how alike we are, in a sense. Kalas and I are different from everyone else in the world, two of a kind. We both had destinies we could not escape from. Perhaps it was another reason I was compelled to stay with and help him and eventually fall in love with him.

Should I have said that to him? Told him how I felt about him? That I only wanted us to be a normal couple? Seeing his face when I collapsed, seeing the tears in his eyes, and hearing his last exclamation, …I can't say for certain that he feels for me the same I do for him, but I can tell that I'm hurting him deeply. I was putting him through the same pain. Again someone close to him was dying in his arms inside of a dark forest.

_Oh Kalas! I can't apologize enough for this…If you could only hear me…_

It's strange, being able to think about all this right now. It's as time itself slowed down enough so that I could think back on all of it, but now… everything around me is starting to grow quieter. I feel something… similar to falling asleep…I could feel my consciousness drifting away.

_So this is it…I am finally fulfilling my destiny as the Last Ice Queen of Wazn. The Ocean will return and the Earth will be whole again…and I can't even keep my promise to him…_

This is what needed to be done. There is no going back. I know that. I accepted my fate years ago, when my mother died. Now though, I wish I didn't have to die. I want to keep my promise… I want to be with Kalas...


End file.
